A nearly 1km stretch of Oxford Street has been permanently sealed off to all buses, taxis, and cyclists—here is the exact diversion map and route upheaval across central London

A nearly one-kilometre corridor of Oxford Street between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street has officially closed to all vehicular traffic, permanently shutting the capital’s premier shopping strip to buses, taxis, private cars, and bicycles. The transformation creates a massive pedestrian haven outside flagship department stores like Selfridges, but it instantly shunts thousands of daily vehicle journeys onto fragile residential networks north of the retail district.

Transport for London (TfL) and the Oxford Street Development Corporation (OSDC) have enacted the sweeping closure alongside permanent diversion patterns. For commuters, shoppers, and local workers, the sudden upheaval redraws daily travel habits overnight.

Navigating the new Oxford Street pedestrianisation map requires understanding where the physical barriers stop traffic, which iconic bus routes no longer reach their traditional stops, and where diverted bottlenecks are already brewing.

The new no-go zone: Where the barricades stand

The pedestrianised boundary runs directly from the junction of Orchard Street in the west across to Great Portland Street in the east. Within this zone, motorised vehicles, e-scooters, pedicabs, and pedal cycles are barred 24 hours a day.

Only two clear transport exceptions exist inside the redrawn boundary:

• Emergency service vehicles: Retain unhindered priority access through the pedestrianised strip at all times.
• Logistics and freight: Essential servicing vehicles can access the traffic-free zone only during an overnight window between midnight and 07:00.
• Mobility aids: Personal mobility scooters remain fully permitted across the pedestrian promenade.

Critical north-south traffic corridors remain open across the pedestrian spine. Motorists and public transport crossing perpendicularly can still transit through key intersections, including Regent Street, Duke Street, and Great Portland Street.

The bus network shake-up: Which routes are cut and diverted

Buses that have ferried passengers directly to shop entrances for over a century have been completely pushed away from the central retail core. TfL insists that alternative stops sit roughly 200 metres from the car-free zone, yet multiple long-standing trunk routes now terminate kilometres short of their usual destinations.

Daytime route disruptions and terminations

Five key daytime services bear the brunt of the street closure:

• Route 7: Shortened to terminate at Cumberland Gate near Marble Arch, abandoning its traditional link to Oxford Circus. Eastbound passengers must alight and transfer to route 98 along Edgware Road.
• Route 94: Cut short at Marble Arch instead of running through to Piccadilly Circus. Commuters bound for Oxford Circus are advised to switch to routes 98 or 390.
• Routes 98, 139, and 390: Permanently diverted north away from Oxford Street, threading through Wigmore Street and Henrietta Place. Replacement boarding stops are operational on Wigmore Street, Henrietta Place, and Cavendish Place.
• Routes 55 and 73: Remain outside the permanent rerouting scheme, though regional roadworks continue to impact nearby run times.

Night buses forced into early turnarounds

Overnight passengers face an equally fractured transit map across the West End:

• Route N7: Terminates early at Cumberland Gate; onward travel east requires changing to the N98 on Edgware Road.
• Routes N98 and N207: Rerouted north of Oxford Street, sharing the daytime diversion path via Wigmore Street and Henrietta Place.
• Route N113: Terminated at Cumberland Gate rather than running to Trafalgar Square. Passengers continuing into central London must switch to route 139 on Baker Street.
• Route N137: Cut back to terminate at Cumberland Gate instead of Oxford Circus, requiring transfers to route 390 along Park Lane.

The 24-hour variants of routes 94, 139, and 390 are operating along their respective revised corridors through the night.

Wigmore Street pressure cooker and cyclist exclusion

Displacing thousands of double-decker buses, black cabs, and delivery vans off Oxford Street has focused immense pressure onto Wigmore Street. The already congested thoroughfare now acts as the primary diversion corridor around the western side of the car-free zone.

Buses navigating the bypass must negotiate roughly eight tight turns through narrow side streets, requiring structural road modifications to prevent vehicles mounting curbs. The logistical bottleneck is compounded by active, heavy construction operations at Cavendish Square.

Residents associations across Fitzrovia, Marylebone, Mayfair, and Soho voiced fierce opposition leading up to the changeover, raising alarms over acute air pollution, noise, and diverted gridlock spilling past residential doorsteps. TfL maintains that journey run times will increase by only “several minutes.”

Meanwhile, the total ban on bicycles along the nearly 1km expanse has infuriated the cycling community. Despite the Mayor of London’s broader active travel commitments, cyclists navigating east-west through the capital have been offered no dedicated bypass route.

The OSDC diversion scheme provides no bespoke infrastructure for displaced cyclists, with TfL stating that cycle provision will be addressed in the future by Westminster City Council.

Taxi users will find relocated ranks operating at Orchard Street, Holles Street, and John Prince’s Street, alongside an expanded rank on Duke Street, positioned roughly 100 metres from the pedestrianised boundary.

💡 Planning a trip to the West End this week? Factor in extra walking time from Wigmore Street or consider switching to the Elizabeth, Central, Bakerloo, or Victoria lines at Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, and Oxford Circus stations, which continue to run unaffected below ground.

🔍 The coming weeks will reveal whether shifting massive volumes of heavy traffic into Marylebone’s historic side streets can sustain the creation of a calm, pedestrian shopping core.

👇 Have you navigated the new West End diversions yet? Share your experience of the bus changes and traffic flow in the comments below.